Background

The 2024 Northern Territory election will be held next Saturday (August 24), with early voting open and voting in many remote communities already underway or completed.

The Northern Territory has fixed four-year terms, with elections held on the fourth Saturday of August every four years. There are twenty-five seats in the single chamber of the Northern Territory Parliament (the Legislative Assembly), with thirteen being the magic number a party needs to form Government.

Territory electorates are like no others in Australia. Two outstanding peculiarities are that around 30% of seats typically ‘change hands’ in any given election and that, owing mainly to the relatively small number of voters in each electorate (around 6,000 compared to around 110,000 in Federal electorates), active local members tend to buck party and demographic trends, so the more uniform swings we see between parties in other jurisdictions are not as prevalent in the Northern Territory.

There have been two published opinion polls for this election. A Redbridge poll in November last year showed the incumbent (Labor) at 43.5% and the opposition (the Country Liberal Party - CLP) at 56.5% on a two-party preferred basis. A Freshwater poll in May this year had Labor at 46% and the Coalition at 54%.   The small size of the electorates and the higher incidence of voter support for individual members over parties make opinion polling in the Northern Territory challenging at best. The polling ahead of the 2020 election was outside of the margin of error compared to the eventual results.  

This will be the first time in the Northern Territory (and only the third time in Australia) that both major parties are led by women. Both leaders also have an Italian heritage.

Policies

The major policy issues of interest to the ADA are general firearm legislation and access (particularly the sale of ammunition) and support for (and the expansion of) the Back Country Hunting Initiative.

Both parties have been active on promises for fishing, but more circumspect when it comes to shooting and hunting issues. The CLP has published policies for shooting and hunting. Labor has not.  

Labor

Although Territory Labor has not (to date) published any specific shooting and hunting policies, Labor Ministers have commented on the CLP’s announcements to clarify Labor’s position somewhat.

Police Minister Brent Potter has said:

“Labor committed to changing the Firearms Act and until legislation is amended an exemption has been put in place which allows interstate licenced gun holders to purchase ammunition in the Territory for recreational purposes.”

“We have also already made grants available to local hunting and game organisations for a range of projects, including conservation, through the Community Benefit Fund.”

Environment Minister Kate Worden has said:

“The Lawler Labor government has kept bag limits for the waterfowl season at the maximum level of seven magpie geese and 10 ducks for three years in a row,” she said.

“We just don’t pluck a number out of the air like the CLP will – bag limits and the length of the hunting season are based on science and the maintaining the magpie geese population.”

Ms Worden claimed she was already working alongside stakeholders to identify a second hunting reserve.

“There are many different land tenures across the Territory and areas previously discussed are not within the remit of the Territory government”

CLP

As part of its Plan to restore the Territory’s lifestyle, the CLP will expand hunting reserves in the Top End to help ease overcrowding.

If elected, the CLP will increase the size of Harrison Dam Hunting Reserve and work closely with stakeholders to identify a site where a new hunting reserve can be opened.

Leader of the Opposition, Lia Finocchiaro said the expansion announcement was among a range of initiatives announced to ensure Territorians can enjoy this popular past time for years to come.

“Territorians love recreational hunting and it is an important part of the Territory’s unique lifestyle.”

“It’s a popular day out for families who get to enjoy our specular natural scenery while taking part in a recreational activity that is unique to the Territory lifestyle.

“But while the popularity of hunting has increased with more than 3,400 permits issued last year, there has been no increase in hunting areas, meaning our five existing reserves are severely overcrowded.

“Overcrowding puts the safety of hunters at risk as well as the sustainability of local flora and fauna. Labor promised to open up a new hunting reserve four years ago but once again they have failed to deliver,” Mrs Finocchiaro said

As part of its Plan to make hunting even better in NT the CLP will:

• Increase the existing size of Harrison Dam Hunting Reserve
• Work with stakeholders to identify the site for a new hunting reserve
• Introduce an annual $50,000 grant program to allow local hunting organisations to access funding to help with ongoing conservation efforts
• Review the Magpie Goose Management Plan to ensure reliability of data
• Lock in Waterfowl daily bag limits (currently 7 magpie geese and 10 ducks) as well as season opening and closing dates (first weekend in September until first weekend in January) for five years to provide hunters with certainty

Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Gerard Maley, said, “The CLP will also stop the constant chopping and changing of bag limits and season length and lock current limits and dates in for the next five years so that Territorians know what they can and can’t do well ahead of time.”

The CLP will review the Firearms Act, with an initial focus on ensuring ammunition is available to communities; give interstate firearm licence holders the ability to purchase ammunition, allow registered gun clubs hold and sell ammunition, and the renewal of current NT firearms licenses.

“We will also look to strengthen the NT Trespass Act to deter illegal hunting.

“The CLP will look to open more government owned or controlled areas to hunting, pig hunting with dogs and bow hunting, on Power and Water Corporation and Land Development Corporation Land. We will also resolve access concerns to the Howard Swamp and Shoal Bay Coastal Reserve.”

How to vote

It is not the ADA’s practice to tell people how to vote. The Association recognises that the importance of hunting and shooting issues will vary from member to member and that other issues such as health, education, cost of living, and law and order will typically be factors in voters' decisions.

Details of where and when to vote can be found on the Northern Territory Electoral Commission website.